Week 8 Industrialisation, Modernism and architecture.

                                                                          Eiffel Tower (1889) Gustave Eiffel

Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao (1997) Frank Gehry

 The importance of the design and construction

The Eiffel Tower was built for the International Exhibition of Paris of 1889 commemorating the centenary of the French Revolution. It was the tallest tower in the world when it was constructed, however now it is only the tallest tower in Paris. It is one of the most recognizable structures in the world and has become the icon of France throughout the world.
Construction of the Eiffel Tower cost 7,800,800 gold francs.It dominates the skyline of Paris and is very important landmark construction history. Today, Parisians could not imagine Paris without the Eiffel Tower, in fact it has become the symbol of the City of Light.


On the other hand ,Guggenheim MuseumThe composition continues a curvaceous, free-form sculptural style that has become a Gehry signature. The abstract, free-form components of this style were so interesting that Guggenheim, Bilbao attracted 2 million people in its first year of existence.
Gehry created an environment that affects the way art is displayed, and changing the way artists create art. The appeal and impact of the building is speechless.It is a human imagination of the sculptural style that confronts the visitor.


Significance of the materials

Nothing like it had ever been built like the Eiffel Tower. The structure took more than two years to complete it,with 12,000 iron pieces were designed separately to give them exactly the shape needed. All pieces were prefabricated and fit together using approx. 7 million nails..It is a 984-foot (300 meter)tower of wrought iron and open-lattice. This tower is significant for Paris because it has been used for radio transmission since the 20th century. It has two restaurants, one on the first floor and one on the second floor with a private lift.
The Guggenheim Museum is the building can be truly recognized with its twisted, curved lines and a series of interconnecting volumes, they are of limestone- coated orthogonal shapes while some others are of more organic volumetry clad in a metallic titanium skin. These are linked with glass curtain walls for a truly remarkable transparency.To make it look perfect, limestone was chosen with different colours. Due to better technological advances ,the glass walls are mounted on a complex metal structure.

http://jssgallery.org/essay/worlds_fairs/paris_exposition_1889/eiffel_tower.htm
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/wonder/structure/eiffel_tower.html
http://www.paris-eiffel-tower-news.com/eiffel-tower-stories/eiffel-tower-construction.htm

Significance of the designer
Alexandre Gustave Eiffel was a French Structural Engineer from the École Centrale Paris, an architect, an entrepreneur and a specialist of metallic structures. Also Maurice Koechlin, Emile Nouguier and Stephen Sauvestre were the engineers and architect, respectively, who helped him in the design and construction of the tower. While Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao was built in the late 1990’s by American architect Frank O. Gehry. It is one of his most recognized masterpiece. The architect has sought a tactile and beautiful aspect with the rough finish of the building. Furthermore, the Museum currently designs exhibits to be viewed by walking up the curved walkway rather than walking down from the top level.His thinking is beyong imagination that he could come out a design with the unique shape of structure,so the musuem does not look monotonous like a normal musuem.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Lloyd_Wright
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustave_Eiffel#Buildings_and_structures

Function for which each was built     

                        

The Eiffel Tower was built for the World Exhibition in 1889, held in celebration of the French Revolution in 1789. There are some shops and two expensive restaurants, Altitude 95 and Jules Verne, on the Eiffel Tower.Also the tower is painted every seven years, using 50 tonnes of paint in order to prevent it from rust. The base of Eiffel Tower is 412 sq. ft wide. It has 1665 steps and three platforms or floors.There are lifts to carry people to the highest point. The design of the unique shape of the Eiffel Tower was based on mathematical calculations involving wind resistance.

The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao was built with modern and contemporary art. The unusual building with its superb use of space and light make it a prime attraction in Bilbao. This great piece of architecture acts as an audacious layout and innovative design for the art which is exhibited within its walls. It has a dedicated exhibition space of 11,000 square meters out of 24,000 square meters. The three floors of the gallery are all interconnected through the atrium are suspended walkways from the ceiling, glass lifts, and stairs.

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/eiffel-tower-history-and-facts-when-and-why-was-eiffel-tower-built.html

http://www.europevoyage.net/guggenheim-museum-bilbao-spain.html

Function now-has it changed?

The Eiffel tower went through a reconstruction and renovation in 1981 to 1983 in preparation of its 100th anniversary in 1989 that costs 40 milliion dollars.Even the paint was stripped off down to the girders, removed the extra unnecessary weight of structures on the upper levels, and built new and lighter in weight facilities for visitors.
For the museum , the diameter of the spiral as it curves upwards allows for the entrance of light at each level installing in the visitor a sense of luminosity and tranquility. The function did not change as it galleries are of different shapes and sizes. It is truly a remarkable example of architecture in the 20th century.

Compare the two architectural structures, by noting their similarities and differences.

Both Structures have been considered best design for architectures in the past or even till now.It is so well-known arthat it caught attention to all the tourisms from all over the world.Also it is truly amazing pieces of architectural structures,when seen from outside ,you could feel how complex the design were being built with such a complete divisible shape.

The Guggenheim Museum is more like a designed with the aid of computers and modernity The design focus with the sorts of twisted, curved lines and a series of interconnecting volumes unlike the Eiffel Tower,which exposed with freedom and it is just an art piece of work by the designer to seek breathtaking attractions from people across the world.